Fired Utility Worker Tries To Clear Name

July 18, 1985|By Pat LaMee of The Sentinel Staff

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Jerry W. Wallace spoke before the city's utilities commission Wednesday in an attempt to clear his name and be reinstated to the job he lost last year when he was charged with illegally selling prison-issued boots to co-workers. Charges against Wallace, 49, 205 Normandy Ave., New Smyrna Beach, were reduced from two felony charges of dealing in stolen property to petty theft misdemeanors. But the lesser charges were dropped last May, shortly before his trial was scheduled to begin.

Assistant State Attorney William Williams said Wednesday that one reason the charges were dropped was because Wallace was not doing anything for personal gain. The money for three or four pairs of boots that were sold over a seven-month period went into a slush fund to buy food or drinks for prisoners on the work-release program under Wallace's supervision, Williams said.

Also, Williams said, there were more important cases and Wallace had suffered enough by losing his job.

''This wasn't the crime of the century but I believe he knew those were prison boots,'' said Williams. ''His heart was in the right place but his way of doing it was wrong. This was a crime of benevolent nature.''

But Wallace's attorney, Craig Boda of Daytona Beach, told the utilities commission that the state ''dumped the charges because there was no factual basis to support them.''

Wallace, who acknowledged that he heard inmates talk about selling boots to utilities employees, told commissioners he thought the boots belonged to the inmates who were selling them for $6 or $8. Wallace said he did not think what they were doing was illegal until someone told him that another employee was accusing him of running a shoe store.

At that point, Wallace explained, he went to his supervisor, Walter Davis, who did not seem concerned with the inmates' boots sales.

Davis subsequently went to his supervisors, who fired Wallace, citing his poor judgment.

The sale of state-issued high-top boots began in December 1983 and continued through July 1984, investigators said. Two Tomoka Correctional Institution inmates were each charged with sale of two pairs of boots. Assistant prison superintendent Doug Romine said those men were convicted of the charges but received no additional sentences.

Wallace said he took collections from utilities workers, including Davis, to buy food, soft drinks or ice cream for prisoners who often arrived at work with sandwiches made of rotten meat provided by the prison. At other times, his wife made lasagne for the men just as she had made cakes and other food periodically for the utilities workers, he said.

At Wednesday's meeting, Wallace denied that there was a slush fund and said he never sold boots or received any money from the sales.

Wallace cited several reasons that he believed caused his dismissal: jealousy over his salary increase, concern over a past illness and one man's attempt to publicly embarrass the utilities commission.

Commissioners told Wallace that Hagen does the hiring and firing and indicated they would not interfere but commissioner Dallas Alsup recommended that Hagen consider hiring Wallace for a job with less responsibility than supervisor.

Hagen maintained that the firing was justified but he described Wallace as a ''good employee and a fine, well-meaning man.''